The Māori Fight for Liberation: Part 2 Ft. Andrew

Spoke about these seeds of contemporary Mari activism, the involvement of Mari in the trade union movements and the development of Mari women's movements, as well as the development of the Brown Power slogan and the split between the movements more radical and more conservative coalitions, with the former eventually going on to as inspired by the Black Panther parts in the US, formed the Polynesian Panthers. For those one awhere,

this is it could happen here. I am Andrew of the Channel Andriwism and I'm joined by Garrison is also on this zoom call as we discuss the Maori land rights movement now. The struggle against Mari oppression racism led to a division within the movement regarding whether the existing political structures could bring about a real change or for complete overthrow of the system was necessary. The failure to address land alienation through official channels created a sense of

pessimism about the government's commitments to Mari rights. The Mari land rights movement emerged from nineteen seventy five to nineteen seventy eight, bringing together diverse range of activists. The sort alliances with workers both Mari and Paquale, viewing them as natural allies in the fight against oppression. The common enemy

was seen as the racist and capitalist state. The occupation of Bastion Point and subsequent eviction from Bastian Point intensified the direct conflict that the movements were happened with the state. It garnered their public support and also their involvement from

the Paka left. The Auckland Trades Council placed a quote unquote green band on the area, which went refusing to allow work to commence on the planned subdivision, and a north shore contractor even donated six trucks, including two Bitjumin tankers to help with a planned blockade. The occupation at Bastian Point was followed by arrests at the Ragland golf Course, and many of those arrested were representatives of various activist groups.

The land rights movement and the struggle against racism radicalized a group of Mari women who were already part of Niagaratamatoa to go on to form the Capital b Capital w Capital Black Women's Movement. In the early nineteen eighties, the Waitangi Action Committee married People's Liberation Movement to our tro and the Black Women's Movement emerged as prominent Maori

political activist group, primarily based in Auckland, New Zealand. They continued the protest tradition of Nagata Matoo with annual protests to the Watangi Day celebrations, and they even came up with the idea to call it the Cheaty of White Tange instead of the Treaty of White Tanky very clearful, and they also called for a boycott of the celebrations.

Not initially, Mario activists had collaborated with certain Pakeha anti racist groups, but that association was weakened after divisions emerged during the anti Springbok Tour protests in nineteen eighty one, which, as you may remember from the previous episode, was a protest against the national rugby team's participation in a tour

that included apartheid South Africa. The perception was that Alissa mong Lari that many Pakeha had failed to recognize the connection between apartheid in South Africa and colonialism and racism in New Zealand, and so the bonds between those two

movements would beginning to weekend. Ad On top of that that a prolonged economic crisis that was taking place in New Zealand during the nineteen seventies nineteen eighties as a result of course of the inherent tendencies of capitalism, the government had to grapple with the crisis of political legitimacy and of economic management, and that of course fueled further ethnic and gender inequalities, further social unrest and worstening economic

conditions and increases in unemployment. The upsoar should take place during that time in MARI protest really highlighted the marginalized position that MARI were dealing with In New Zealand society and studies ended up confirming their disproportionately poor educational outcomes, high unemployment rates, low incomes, health issues, high imprisonment rates, low rates of home ownership, and dependence on the state.

Whilst some ARIA activists had sourced strategies to challenge the system and addresses inequalities, others ended up pursuing struggles that posed little threat to the state and failed to address the courses of economic and social crisis is inherent to capitalism. Now, the initial focus of Marie culture nationalism was on secure

in Mari studies and language programs in the educational system. However, the move on eventually shifted its emphasis towards this rediscovering Mari history and culture more broadly, and along the way there was less emphasis on putting together a robust political movement and robust strategies for broader social change. And while Failiar movements had a very clear focus on left wing politics, it's also around this time that we see a shift

towards a broader range of politics, including right wing. One of the most important works in the Maria Actress movement at the time was Donna Aurtiri's Maori Sovereignty, published in nineteen eighty four, and that book was really less of a critique of right wing racist politics and more a critique of left social movements, which, according to our Tiri was committed to a status co characterized by white supremacy and Mari subbort nation.

towards purely cultural vitalist pursuits. In nineteen eighty four, the Fourth Labor Government was elected and it sort of addressed the rise in Mari protests by enhancing the status of Mari culture specifically and incorporating Mari representation and practices within state institution shots This approach is known as biculturalism, and it extended the jurisdiction of the White Tanki Tribunal and incorporated Maori personnel and cultural symbolism into government institutions for

those who made a mist up. The White Tanky Tribunal was basically institutions set up to deal with specific cases of violations of the White Tangi Treaty, and so by extending jurisdiction with White Tanki Tribunal, by incorporating more Maori into positions of government and of power.

so so it doesn't lose other fights. It pretends to lose certain battles so that it can win the war right because in conceding to more reformist demands of the movement, it allowed them to marginalize and to disempower the movements more radical demands, and it allowed them to you know, put forward this pr phase of doing a good thing for the Maria community while not actually challenging the underlying

social relations of racist and capitalist society. Basically, the state's adoption of ethnic rhetoric and corporation of Mario elites into state institutions save to appease a decent portion of Mari protests while maintaining the start scope. Now, after the Labor government had introduce used the Treaty of waitang Gi Amendment ART, which expanded the powers of the Waite Tangi Tribunal in nineteen eighty five. The White Tangi Tribunal actually had very

little power when it came to enforcing its recommendations. So it would hear out these cases of land theft. It would hear out, you know, these Maori individuals or groups would invested a lot of time and energy and resources into their land claim cases. The tribunal would find them correct. It's like, oh, yeah, they did steal from you. You probably should get that land back. But the only thing

is we can really help you. The tribunal which was set up to help with these cases didn't actually have the power to enforce its recommendations, to actually enforce the settlements that came to it was toothless, so it really end up being.

dismantled with the welfare state. Again echoes this is new liberalism one O one Thatcher regan all of them because the claims that were made to the White Tangia Tribunal and the recommendations made by the tribunal posed obstacles to that sale of state owned enterprises and that further restruction the economy towards more new liberal ends. There was a crowingcent within the government that this was quote unquote special

treatment for Mari. Added the political costs associated with the tribunal was just causing too much headache for the government.

Came in privileged positions and wealth, and so they became insulated from the grass roots Mario struggle. The following government, not the Labor government, but the national government also sort to restore profitable investment in the New Zealand economy and to address some of the uncertainty created by the treaty claims. And so they went to the Mari elite did their little negotiations and they decided to settle certain claims to

the fisheries around New Zealand. That became known as the Sea Lord's Deal, which caused a lot of headache and anger and divisions in the Marie community because of the

lack of transparency and democracy in these negotiations. The deal was made between the New Zealand government and a group of Mari corporate entities known as the Sea Loord Group in nineteen ninety two, and under this agreement, the Sea Lord Group, which was said to represent Mari interests, acquired a fifty percent stake in Sea Loord, which is a major seafood company New Zealand. The other fifty percent remained

with the Japanese fishing company Nisui. And so the deal was seeing as a resolution like, yeah, we put ourselves in the back. The Maori were making these claims over fishery resources. So we met up with some Mari businessmen and gave them a fifty percent steak in sea lord problem solved right now. You know, they will get some commercial benefits from the fishing industry, but no more than fifty percent.

else in their community. So they would claim, oh, yeah, this is my land, complete disregarding the fact that this is coming a land that it has been for generations. This is my land, so I will sell it to you. You give me the money, and so I you know, profit and a real.

and final settlement of all remaining treaty of Aitangi claims. Basically, the government was saying, here, here have some money, get out of the way, shut up, does it so called reparations right, And so there was another upsurge of Mari protests and you know, more of people were frustrated and there was traited desperation because there was really a lack of options for resolve and the grievances.

And another key component to this division was the fact that the more middle class elements, middle class professional elements of the married population were enjoying an expansion opportunities and were growing in wealth and prestige, but they were leaving behind the working class Mari population, which was still struggling

in the same way they had been for decades. The policies of both the Labor government and the national government disproportionately impacted working class Mari communities, and the movement that was supposed to represent them had lost sight of them and their interests. There was a lack of intermovement solidarity, of pushing for fundamental social change instead of these individual changes,

and there was a sense of crumbling internal cohesion. Some marioctivists, such as te Ahu, who like I said in my first spot, I drew primarily from their work when researching this particular history, and they were very critical of that historical period and particularly of the personalization of the conflict for liberation, and so their position was that by focus on individual relationships and prejudices, rather than challenging the systemic

structures perpetuating oppression. It left the struggle to be fought on this individual level while the larger system was left unaddressed. And particularly because you know, in the eighties there was a shift away from class struggle as a central component of the Maori struggle. Middle class and wealthy Mari interests were dominating the conversation and their interests were exclusively in cultural nationalism, with no real room for working class struggle,

for class struggle in any form. And then part of that whole strategy and that will focus on exclusively cultural nationalism, would attempt to throw everybody under this one. Under this broad brush right, the wealthy new liberal Marie politicians would be in the same vein as the impoverished and unemployed working class Mari, despite their clear differences and access to

economic and political power. And so this notion of Maria as a homogeneous group with identical experiences and political aspirations, disregarding diversity within Marie society and the conflicting political strategies within Marie communities would really weaken the cohesion of the struggle as a whole. And I don't know how else to say this except there needs to be a recognition of racial struggle, gender struggle, of class struggle, of struggles

for ability and disability, justice, like inter sexuality, intersectionality. It's really so simple. Cultural nationalism has its place, but it's very insufficient and very easily cooptable. That's why the New African anarchist Ashanti Austan says that we must go beyond nationalism, even if we don't go without it.

change in material realities. Who in their peace had said that, While and I'm quoting him, well, culture and identity remain absolutely essential to mari social wellbeing, it does not automatically follow that cultural identity alone should provide the organizational basis for the fight against racism and Marie disadvantage. Because identities are blurred and multiple, any fight against Mario oppression must be based upon building the strongest possible liberation movement by

uniting different oppressed groups into a common struggle. This is essential because true liberation for MARI will not occur with a fundamental trans transformation of capitalist society and the creation of a classless society in which there is real women's liberation, gain, lesbian liberation, and freedom from.

variety of political aims. I so it's a lot of room for middle class interests to dominate as they have a lot more time and resources to contribute and take over the rhetoric and the messaging of the causes.

wide range of strategies, campaigns and participants. There's not a unified movement, but there's a heterogenous force with both radical and conservative elements, each pursuing different methods to achieve the objectives. There's no unanimous agreement on the vision of tino rangatira tanga, which is the Marii term for Mari self determination. Tino rangatira tanga can be associated with Mari capitalism, electoral power,

cultural nationalism, or revolution reactivity. In the past, some artists had believed that fundamental transformation of the system was necessary for liberation, and so they rejected reformism. But the landscape has changed.

the Maria struggle. But I hope that the takeaway here has been clear, and that is the need for a clear intersectional approach to revolution in our struggle against racist, sexist, capitalist, et cetera society. The Mari movement is still ongoing, and so the focus of these two parts has been primarily on the current rather has been primarily on the struggle of the sixties, seventies, eighties and early nineties.